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About this blog: I am a native of Alameda County, grew up in Pleasanton and currently live in the house I grew up in that is more than 100 years old. I spent 39 years in the daily newspaper business and wrote a column for more than 25 years in add... (More)

About this blog: I am a native of Alameda County, grew up in Pleasanton and currently live in the house I grew up in that is more than 100 years old. I spent 39 years in the daily newspaper business and wrote a column for more than 25 years in addition to writing editorials for more than 15 years. I have served as a director of many non-profits in the Valley and the broader Bay Area and currently serve as chair of Teen Esteem and on the advisory board of Shepherd?s Gate. I also served as founding chair of Heart for Africa and have travelled to Africa seven times to serve on mission trips. My wife, Betty Gail, has taught at Amador Valley High (from where we both graduated) since 1981. She and I both graduated from the University of California, Berkeley, as did both of my parents and my three siblings. Given that Cal tradition, our daughter went south to the University of Southern California and graduated with a degree in international relations. Since graduation, she has taken three mission trips and will be serving in the Philippines for nine months starting in September. (Hide)

First Amendment under attack

Uploaded: Sep 22, 2016

It’s no secret that the 2nd Amendment has been under attack for decades.
What’s truly troubling is how the 1st Amendment now is coming under fire, particularly the freedom to practice a religion of your choice.
Wall Street Journal columnist William McGurn pointed this out last week in a piece about the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights Chairman Robert Castro and a report he released recently. It was titled “Peaceful Coexistence: Reconciling nondiscrimination principles with civil liberties.”

In the report, he wrote, “The phrases ‘religious liberty’ and ‘religious freedom’ will stand for nothing except hypocrisy so long as they remain code words for discrimination, intolerance, racism, sexism, homophobia, Islamophobia, Christian supremacy or any form of intolerance.”

Really.
Evangelical Christians who strive to live by the Bible as the living word of God hold to the Bible’s teaching that marriage is between one man and one woman. Thanks to four progressives on the Supreme Court and Justice Anthony Kennedy, the law of the land no longer aligns with that viewpoint. That doesn’t change my or their convictions about what is right.

Even more troubling in the report is: “Civil rights protections ensuring nondiscrimination, as embodied in the Constitution, laws and policies are of pre-eminent importance in American jurisprudence.”

In other words, the free exercise of religion clause in the First Amendment is trumped by a policy of some group such as the civil rights commission.

We do live in troubling times when rights enumerated in the Constitution can be over-ridden by the opinions of bureaucrats.

My friend Frank Capilla, founder of Can-Am Plumbing in Pleasanton, emailed last week with the following:
“This morning our estimator at Can-Am Plumbing received an email from one of our customers, Pulte Homes. We are no longer to refer to the master bathroom as the "Master bathroom". They said that some of their customers find the word "master" offensive. From now on we are to refer to the master bathroom as the "owners" bathroom. I have been in the plumbing trade for 54 years and my own business for 44 years. I thought I've heard it all, however, this really takes the cake.

I think I'm getting old because I'm really getting tired of this politically correct X$%#, or should I say politically correct feces.
PS: I wonder if they have this problem in Texas."This evening at 6:30 p.m., Pleasanton Gardens will host its biennial candidates’ night at 251 Kottinger Ave. The forum will focus on issues of particular concern to senior citizens. It is open to the public.

If you have a question you would like asked as it relates to seniors in Pleasanton, please respond to this blog.

Posted by DKHSK,
a resident of Bridle Creek,
on Sep 22, 2016 at 8:36 amDKHSK is a registered user.

Tim,

Have you ever noticed that the left attacks current day Christians (and American Christians in particular) but never say a word about Islamist practices of slavery, killing gays, subjugating women...etc?

It shows either a high level of cognitive dissonance or they're just cowards who don't want the chance of being killed by extremists.

The worrisome part is that the movement moves forward at an alarming rate. You can bet with the supremes ruling on Marriage, it is only a matter of time that the major religions will be sued for refusal to marry a same-sex couple and then all heck will break out. My suspicion is this next step (suing churches) will start after the election and depend on who is in office.

Posted by SCU Alumni,
a resident of Danville,
on Sep 22, 2016 at 10:07 am

It is very troubling how liberal politicians and their allies are destroying our constitutional rights to freedom of religion, and society overall is simply going along with them, and not challenging their attacks, due to fear of not being politically correct. I am a graduate of Santa Clara University School of Law, a Catholic University. Yet, the school administration ignores church teaching, and actually awards those liberal politicians for their anti-Catholic agenda. For example, the University has given numerous awards and accolades to liberal politician Gavin Newsome, despite his well publicized adultery with his good friend's wife, his forcing of the gay agenda on the public, his call for abortion even during the last month of pregnancy, and his current advocacy of making marijuana legal for recreational use, not medicinal. Even this Catholic University is giving in to political correctness in rewarding behavior of their alumni that goes against church teaching, while the public quietly goes along with the liberal agenda.

Tim, thanks for having the courage to openly discuss the erosion of our freedom of religion, and how liberal politicians and their allies are taking away our constitutional rights, while the public quietly sits back and does nothing. Being a proud Christian and proud Catholic has become the current Scarlet Letter, where political correctness and the liberal agenda treat you like an enemy combatant. Unless people speak up, we will again see the time where "Catholics need not apply" signs pop up, as political correctness allows society to discriminate against Catholics.

Interesting... Tim, since when is "equal protection under the law" just "a policy of some group such as the civil rights commission?" Silly me. I thought that right was embodied in the Constitution, too.

Posted by Henry,
a resident of Pleasanton Valley,
on Sep 23, 2016 at 11:45 amHenry is a registered user.

Tim,

The First Amendment state that "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or permitting the free exercise thereof". Nothing you mention suggests the government of making laws respecting an establishment of religion, and nothing suggests that a person can not exercise their religion freely. The government also can not give preference to one religion over another. Roman Catholics, Protestants of every variety, Hindus, Muslims, you name it, may all freely practice their religion. What they can not do is use their religion to impose unconstitutional restrictions on persons outside of their religion. No one forces a priest to perform a gay marriage. On the other hand, a priest should not impose his beliefs on non-Roman Catholics. How the Roman Catholic establishment deals with Roman Catholics who stray from church teachings is an issue for that religious establishment to deal with; it has nothing to do with the Second Amendment. The United States does not have an established religion and it should not impose religious practices on its citizens. That is what the Civil Rights Commission is referring to. Sometimes religions lead the way in the development of civil rights, sometime they lag.

Posted by SCU Alumni,
a resident of Danville,
on Sep 23, 2016 at 2:18 pm

"Henry" : Wake up and face the facts, liberal politicians are violating Christians right of free exercise of religion. Little Sisters of The Poor, a group of Catholic nuns, had to take their case all the way to the Supreme Court when Obama tried to force them to cover abortion drugs under Obamacare. An unanimous court( which never happens) ruled that Obamacare violated their constitutional right of freedom of religion. Liberal politicians keep pushing the envelope with laws & policies that discriminate against Christians. The public sits by quietly and does not do anything, even when liberals force their illegal policies on a group of nuns! The fear of not being politically correct silences the public, even when constitutional rights are being violated. Tim, thank you for discussing the truth, and nobody thought 15 years ago liberals would try to illegally bully nuns. It is not paranoia to worry that in the near future liberals will try to force priests to marry gays. Political correctness is out of control, and Christians are caught in the cross-fire.

Posted by Interested Party,
a resident of Pleasanton Valley,
on Sep 23, 2016 at 4:31 pm

The liberal agenda for "diversity and inclusiveness" excludes Christians. It's only a matter of time before the liberals go after "other groups" that do not fit into their ideas of what is "politically correct". Tis is not a fantasy - it's happening. Wake up and look out - you may be next!

Posted by Michael Austin,
a resident of Pleasanton Meadows,
on Sep 23, 2016 at 4:48 pmMichael Austin is a registered user.

Conservative vs. Liberal Beliefs:

We all want the same thing in life. We want freedom; we want the chance for prosperity; we want as few people suffering as possible; we want healthy children; we want to have crime-free streets. The argument is how to achieve them?

Liberals believe in government action to achieve equal opportunity and equality for all. It is the duty of the government to alleviate social ills and to protect civil liberties and individual and human rights. Believe the role of the government should be to guarantee that no one is in need. Liberal policies generally emphasize the need for the government to solve problems.

Conservatives believe in personal responsibility, limited government, free markets, individual liberty, traditional American values and a strong national defense. Believe the role of government should be to provide people the freedom necessary to pursue their own goals. Conservative policies generally emphasize empowerment of the individual to solve problems.

Posted by DKHSK,
a resident of Bridle Creek,
on Sep 23, 2016 at 5:11 pmDKHSK is a registered user.

So Conservatives and Liberals want the same things eh, Michael?

Let's look at a few examples of what liberals want:

Freedom of Speech - Right this second, in campuses all across the US, there are whole movements of students, faculty and administration DEMANDING that conservative speakers not be allowed to speak to campus conservative clubs. There are speech codes that demand students not say certain words and phrases like HIM (GASP!) or HER (GASP!) or MR/MRS (GASP!)

Right to Bear Arms (Liberty) - Right this second, there are lawsuits taking place against many states and cities so that citizens can continue to have a right to bear arms.

Freedom of Religion - Read SCU Alumni post above.

Freedom to keep your house warm using wood pellets (local issue) - You may think I'm joking but I'm not. These are not conservatives attempting to take away YOUR RIGHT to stay warm.

I can go on and on and on but you already know where I stand on many issues I'm sure.

To suggest we all want the same things like Liberty and Freedom is not true, not even close.

Posted by DKHSK,
a resident of Bridle Creek,
on Sep 24, 2016 at 9:11 amDKHSK is a registered user.

Henry -- "No one forces a priest to perform a gay marriage. On the other hand, a priest should not impose his beliefs on non-Roman Catholics."

The Catholic Church (or any Church, really) is not "imposing" any belief on any gay marriage advocate. They are simply following their own morals and beliefs and saying "no".

They don't, as a matter of the constitution, have to perform gay marriage. Just like they don't have to allow female priests or birth control. But that doesn't mean the liberals won't try and pack a court to say otherwise.